


The Curse of the Geniuses

by tonystarksbabygirl



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Childhood Trauma, Dad/son kind of relationship, MIT, Multi, Peter being the best student, Starker, Tony being the best teacher, University AU, for now, mentor Tony, platonic
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-05-25
Updated: 2019-05-31
Packaged: 2020-03-17 04:18:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 2,622
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18957721
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tonystarksbabygirl/pseuds/tonystarksbabygirl
Summary: Tony Stark was never abducted, the Avengers never became a thing, instead they are the brightest bunch of geniuses teaching at MIT. Peter Parker has grown, first year at uni doing Physics. He has only May, nobody wants to be his friend because he’s unique.. until he meets Tony...





	1. Peter’s life so far

**Author's Note:**

> Hey, so this is my first work and I’m trying to experiment. Feedback is much needed, sweethearts. I hope you enjoy it!

Since he was little Peter was the outsider of the class. Nobody got along with him because he was smarter than everyone. Even the brightest students couldn’t stand the boy because of their own ambitions. He never got in their way but it was his natural intelligence they couldn’t bear. Peter was always top of the class and a straight A student even though he tried to suppress his capabilities sometimes just to show them he wasn’t that different.  
But alas, he was extraordinary. Throughout the years Peter tried to find friends. Every kid needs ones. The hardest period for him was during his early teenage years when his parents died and then he moved to his aunt’s and uncle’s. The bond he formed with his uncle was unique. It was pure friendship - something that Peter hadn’t had until that point. Suddenly, the urge to be liked by the others disappeared for awhile. Things were good for him until one day he came back home to his aunt and he knew something was wrong. His gut feeling never lied to him even when his emotions were overwhelming. The whole day at school something was bugging him. His classmates were noisier than usual, the exam he had went terribly (which was a first for him) and every second felt like an year.  
Usually, there was only one thing that made school bearable - lunch breaks. Peter adored them. His aunt packed him something delicious every day and his uncle gave him a new book to read every week so they could discuss it in the weekend in their “book club” (He wasn’t even sure if it was an actual book club since it was him and his uncle and his aunt’s old velvet pillows, but he was always ready with a thorough book review). This time his lunch wasn’t as delicious and he couldn’t even gather his thoughts let alone focus on this week’s book. He went home tired and nervous trying to figure out what was the reason for his inexplicable mood.  
The answer came quickly even before seeing May sitting on the couch crying. There was police in front of the building he lived in (not that it was unusual given the fact he lived in Queens). This time something was different though. The policemen looked exhausted and somehow gloomy. As he passed near them he saw the report with his uncle’s name on it. A wave of devastation was slowly uprising as he climbed the stairs. The corridor was quiet and even ominous. As he entered his apartment he heard the uncontrollable sobs and then he knew. He knew he lost his uncle, his best friend who was always beside him.  
After that it was as if a wormhole opened in the boy’s life. The most important person in his life disappeared and it was too much for him to cope at that age. But he did, not because of himself but because of May. She was still there, he couldn’t let himself grief in front of her because he knew he was supposed to be the strong one. And he played that part well. But then again he was left with no friends again.  
So he tried and tried to find somebody. Went through all of the phases one could imagine. The emo one, the soft vintage one, the athlete one, but nothing would suit him. He was just himself, he couldn’t be anything else. And at some point he accepted the fact he didn’t fit in anywhere at least in highschool.


	2. New beginnings?

Peter didn’t expect much from uni but he still enrolled. He imagined that he would meet like-minded people and that was his only hope. If only he had known who he would have met. A person that turned his world around. But he wasn’t there yet.  
Peter was desirable, even in high school. Most of the girls (even some of the boys) had a crush on him but they would never accept it because he was different. Different - such a strong word and usually badly interpreted. 

He spent most of his high school proms alone. May tried to bring the subject but he wouldn’t even listen. He was tired of constantly trying to impress people.  
Peter fancied the idea of having a girlfriend but never acted on it because he was scared of rejection. He sensed that some of the girls liked him but every time he encountered them in the halls they started murmuring and blushing. 

There was this one special girl he had on his mind - Jessica. That was his first and only attempt to get close to someone at school. She was a senior when he was a junior. The first time he saw her he felt something in his stomach. Peter tried his best not to pay attention to his feelings but at some point they overwhelmed him.  
It was homecoming and even though it was a school event everyone snuck in a bit of alcohol. The athletes never liked Peter but he was good to them anyway. He helped the with Chemistry and Physics homework every Thursday before their practice. That’s how he met Jessica. She was the girlfriend of one of the jocks. He treated her awfully and cheated on her with most of the girls at school. Peter saw that and tried to tell her, but it was pointless. Firstly because she was so blinded by her boyfriend’s lies and secondly because the athletes stopped them mid-conversation. Since then they bullied him on regular basis and homecoming wasn’t an exception. 

The athletes knew about Peter’s obvious crush on Jess and decided to embarrass him in front of the whole school. For the morons they were, their alcohol fuelled brains came up with a pretty structured plan - to roofie Peter and make everyone else vote for him and Jessica to be prom king and queen. That way he would have to give a speech high and embarrass himself. Things went better than expected for the athletes - everyone knew the plan and voted for them. By the time it was Peter’s turn on the stage he was so high he could barely walk. Everyone anticipated that moment and when he got on stage everyone was giggling uncontrollably.

“U-uhm, h-hi, I’m Peter, I u-uh would like to thank you-u for it, b-but most importantly..” 

At that moment he hesitated, because the emotions were overwhelming him and standing there with Jessica was too much for him so words just started flowing.

“... most importantly I would like to thank Jessica because she was my inspiration all along and I’m so in love with her and her beautiful eyes, and the way she smiles, and-and...”

He started tearing up. 

“...and I’m so tired of the fact she goes with that twat who sleeps with half of the scho-“

In that moment, he knew he overstepped a line, but he was so high to care. Peter felt something or someone hitting him repeatedly and then everything went black. In the morning he found himself in a hospital bed with May sitting next to him. Going back to school was hard given the fact everyone hated him but at least the jocks were expelled. Life was a nightmare after that.

Given his previous experience, Peter was convinced university wouldn’t be any different. That was until he met Tony Stark, his Physics professor.


	3. The Surprise

When enrolling Peter had to make a choice. MIT offered dormitories near campus but it came with a price. Not an unbearable one but it was certainly way over the amount the boy could afford. May generously offered the money, but Peter knew that behind that façade of certainty stood the fact that his aunt would be struggling financially to provide for him. He couldn’t bare that and decided to stay with her for now until he got a job or at least an internship to help her with the money. Besides, he was anxious to leave her. After all, Peter was her only family left. 

At first May was reluctant because she did want the best for her nephew and the opportunity of him being near campus would alleviate his studies. Nevertheless Peter insisted and said that the commute isn’t that much and he could study while commuting. 

By the time the year started they had both forgotten about it and Peter had prepared different routes from his apartment to the university depending on his mood. He even made a playlists to hype him all the way to campus. The playlist was mostly consistent of Black Sabbath’s, Queen’s and The Clash’s bangers. He never quite grasped the idea of “new” music and was fond of what his uncle had played him. 

His first day at uni was upon him and May was bouncing and squeaking all over the apartment. 

“Petey, darling, I’m so excited and so-so-sooo proud.” She was already tearing up. “Enjoy your first day, I made you lunch and gave you some extra money and-and..” May was already out of breath when Peter stopped her mid-sentence and hugged her tightly.

“Everything is okay, May. After I finish classes, I’m going straight home to give you all the details.”

May smiled widely and blabbered another incoherent sentence and her nephew just smiled and put his headphones on. There was one particular song he had in mind for starters. It was “Should I stay or should I go” by The Clash and it was definitely corresponding to his mood.

On the way there he was getting more and more anxious. Peter being himself had learned what classes he had during the week by heart and was already revising what subjects he had today. One of the subjects drew his attention a lot more than the others. It was Quantum Physics.  
Of course, it was his last class for the day and the anticipation was growing.

Everything was so new to Peter and it was overwhelming him. The people were so different than the ones in school, so welcoming. In the break before his last class everyone started murmuring and looking around as if something big and scary was coming. Peter got frustrated and decided to ask one of the girls he had met earlier what was going on.

“Hey, uhm Mary why everyone got so nervous all of a sudden?”

“Don’t you know who our lecturer is?” Her eyes widened and her face went red and Peter looked around to see what was happening. At that moment he finally knew why everyone was in awe. 

At the end of the corridor slowly walking towards the hall was Anthony Stark. Anthony fucking Stark. The Da Vinci of Our Time they called him. Peter thought he was just an eccentric billionaire and he was right about that but there was so much more to that he was going to understand.


	4. The Lecture

“Hi, hello. Can you hear me?”

A loud murmur spread across the room which was enough for Stark to continue. 

“Can someone tell me why are you studying in this university?”

Anthony Stark’s question was answered with an ominous silence. Everyone was shocked and and it took them some time to assimilate it. 

“Come on, you should know the answer to this one. After all I hope most of you enrolled for a reason.” His voice was ringing in the vast hall. 

A shaky voice broke the silence.   
“Because we want to be like you. After all you’re a pioneer in your sphere.”

“Oh, my boy, you’ll never be like me and that’s the whole point.. Come on people,   
i-m-a-g-i-n-t-i-o-n. I am sure you’ve got an answer. Try, I don’t bite.”

Peter was already feeling uncomfortable and kind of intimidated but maybe that’s why he went for an answer. He was sitting on the second row and tried to pronounce the words in a way only his lecturer would hear him.

“I am here because I want to help people..”

His lecturer was startled and turned his head to see who was speaking. He almost immediately focused on the boy. 

“Can you please elaborate on that, Mr...?”

“Parker. Peter Parker.”

“Okay, Mr. Parker how are you going to help people by studying Physics?” 

Peter was growing more insecure given the fact the whole attention was focused on him. 

“Well, quantum mechanics has explained the structure of the atom and the structure of the nucleus. Without knowing the structure of the atom, most of the physics and chemistry that we know today wouldn't have been possible. Imagine going even more in depth, imagine the possibilities if we knew more...” 

Peter was turning red as he spoke and at some point the air in his lungs was almost missing.

“Thank you, Mr. Parker. You’re actually right. You’re the first one so far to get close to the answer I expect.”

Mary who was sitting next to Peter with her eyes widened and her jaw dropped. The boy couldn’t find a place, now everyone was staring at him. It was like high school all over again. His mind went racing through all the possible outcomes just because he expressed his own opinion. It was just for a moment though because Stark had already attracted the attention to himself back again with another question. 

“If someone who doesn’t understand how Physics or in our case Quantum Physics work how are you going to explain it to them? Imagine this situation: you’re visiting your grandparents who live miles away and are not exactly up to date with QP, what do you tell them?” Stark continued to ask seemingly irrelevant to the students questions. Most of them were getting annoyed with this method because nobody understood why was he doing it. Everyone except Peter. Instead of pouting like the others he tried to answer the question firstly to himself, secondly to his professor.

“Well, I would tell them that studying Physics contributes to society's understanding of such areas as energy, weather, medical science, and space exploration. And also if I knew more, I would probably be able to improve the quality of our life.”

Stark was standing still. Almost strangely still. He couldn’t believe somebody was actually close to his understanding of things. In his mind were racing so many thoughts but as the boy was finishing his sentence he realised that he had to take control of himself. 

“Thank you, Mr. Parker for your contribution to the class.” He smiled and decided not to indulge more into these questions, because there was something in this boy, something very different. He had to take control of the conversation for the moment, after all he’s got a whole year to talk to Peter Parker, not necessarily in front of his whole class. 

After that he started explaining some introductory stuff for the course and two hours passed by. At the end he thanked for the attention and moved so fast through the crowd that Peter couldn’t see him. The boy’s mind was racing. He wanted more from this person, he wanted to talk to him, to get to know him. Being in a lecture hall with him wasn’t enough..

“Peter are you okay?” Mary said.

“Uhm, yeah, just kinda tired.”

“Oh, I wanted to ask you if you wanted to grab a beer or something?” 

“Sorry, Mary, I have to go, I promised my aunt to be there for dinner.” Peter was so overwhelmed by his lecturer’s words that he wanted to go home and just think about everything that happened.

“It’s okay, another time. By the way, call me MJ.” She said with a smile and strolled away.

Peter put his headphones on and couldn’t wait to get home and tell his aunt everything.


End file.
